Chemicals in the Garden

Hi, I'm Lori Else, and I love to garden. A few years ago though, I just could not win! I had bugs everywhere, and when I would try to spray to get rid of them, my plants would die from the spray! Soon, my grass and surrounding lawn also started to turn brown. I had no idea what was going on.
One day, I was ranting to my son about my gardening woes. He had just graduated from a university with a degree in environmental science asked if he could come look at my spray. It turns out it contained harmful chemicals that were spreading. It was not only killing the bugs; it was killing the plants and everything else around it.
He helped me find a safer substitute, saved my future gardens, and so I started talking to my son more about environmental topics, which provides the content for this blog.

How You Can Determine What Your Metal Is Worth

Posted on:
9 February 2015

When it comes to determining the value of a piece of scrap metal, there are a lot of factors involved. There are trends that need to be followed if you are interested in finding out what the price of your metal is worth. A lot goes into determining what the latest trends are and it happens on a much larger scale than you may be aware of. There are both international and domestic markets that are taken into consideration when determining prices. By understanding these trends and the overall supply and demand, you can get a good idea of what your scrap metal is worth.

Local Markets

When you run to the scrap yard to find out how much your scrap metal is worth, the price is not decided upon by the people who own the place. Instead, they spend time determining what the value is based on the local market trends. This is an ongoing process that can change daily. One of the ways scrap metal is determined is by the stock market. The changes in the price of commodities being bought and sold on the stock market play a role in how much you get back for your scrap metal. For a quick idea on what your local metal prices are, you can download a free app or go to iScrapapp.com. There is also a forum available so you can talk to others who are interested in recycling scrap metal.

Worldwide Trends

Just because you are recycling scrap metal in the United States, it does not mean there aren't international factors affecting the value. What happens all over the world can affect the price of your metal. When it comes to finding out the value of your metal, you need to understand what international markets are doing. One of the largest areas to focus on is China. In 2010, the U.S. exported over $8 billion dollars of scrap metal and trash to China. The more countries like China and other top producers want our scrap metal, the higher the prices are. When these countries see a downturn in their economy, they have less need for the metal. Most of these countries use the metal for building so when they economy is slow, they do less building. This directly affects the metal prices in the United States.

With so many factors determining the prices of metal, there is no one answer. Understanding how supply and demand can control the prices of the metal can give you an idea of what your metal could be worth at any given time. Many scrap yards provide prices for scrap metals online. These numbers often get updated daily, weekly, or even monthly. To learn more, visit American Northwest Recycling.